Spring Garden Arrangement

Video Transcription  

Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute. And today, I'm here to share with you a fabulous spring garden, done parallel style. The container, a cement block, it's not watertight, so I've lined it and then placed floral foam presoaked with flower food. It's ready to use with a variety of different flowers, so many different things. Then some fabulous items I foraged for right here in the neighborhood. Some andromeda, pieris, lily-of-the-valley bush, comes by so many different names. Wild ivy, we're not supposed to use ivy in Oregon, but I've got it. It was foraged and I love it, but I won't deliver it anywhere. Some magnolia branches together, just grand. 

First up is the main lines of the design using the magnolia branches, cutting it down, determining my length using a sharp pruner. The second one, there we go. Then placing it in, and a second, keeping the lines parallel, treating them as trees, growing up in the garden. 

Once the lines are in place, I'm going to go back and add my ground cover, so I have trees and ground cover. The ivy's perfect. Give it a cut, letting it drape over the side, repeating it coming out the opposite side, maybe a little bit of the pieris, breaking it apart and giving it a snap. Letting that, too, drape over, giving movement, coming back to the opposite side. You don't want a flat garden, you want it to come forward and back. Maybe coming out a little bit more on this side. One last piece coming up through the center and drawing the eye to the back. 

I have my trees, I have my ground cover, time to add the flowers. Thinking about how things grow in nature, multiple levels, some at the top, some at the bottom, some in the middle. Coming back with some lisianthus, adding a little bit of color, keeping it with that parallel insertion. Want everything to look as though it was growing in my little fantasy garden, even adding buds coming in, finding the perfect spot. Coming back, maybe I have roses in my garden, beautiful spray roses, I'm going to twist so it faces correctly. And for depth of color, some beautiful carnations, keeping them down low. Maybe they're just peeking up, they're just starting to grow, little bit taller, then a third pulling your eye towards the back. Then double checking. Have it forward, back, top, bottom and add a few more blooms. 

For contrast, tucking in some tulips, these are the tinted tulips, so they give you that brown coppery hue. They're going to continue to grow, so making them be maybe a little shorter than the others so that as they grow, they grow into the arrangement. Tucking it down and repeating, adding that little intensity of color, then coming around. Maybe another rose, thinking I need just a bit more of the pink over on the side. Still keeping it parallel, growing up as the garden would. Checking for carnations, lisianthus, what else do you want to add? And then, just for a touch of fun, thinking about the true garden where there's always weeds, there's always things that are unexpected and tucking in a weed, a little bit of eryngium to add contrast and texture to the design. 

Creating this design is easy. You can use any flowers you like. I started with two stems of magnolia, then I added the ivy and the pieris, seven lisianthus, five spray roses, two of the tulips, four of the carnations and just one stem of eryngium, so it's this and that to create your own fantasy garden. Working with the parallel placement and then grouping materials gives it a wonderful spring garden feel. You'll find more creative inspiration at our website, Flower School.com. If you've got questions, you can reach us through there or pick up the telephone and give me a call at (503) 223-8089. 

Now it's your turn to create a garden. Gather your favorite materials, design away. Then be sure to take a picture, post it on social media and tag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.